Apologies
by nicol-leoraine
Summary: There was never an easy arrest for Tony and Gibbs, but this one took the cake. Or the waffles?


**A/N**: Written for the NCIS LFWS Round 5. It was a picture prompt, and from all the available pics, I choose _waffles_.

**Beta-reader:** Tania

**Apologies**

There was no such things as an easy arrest, Tony realized, when another round of shots flew past his head. Cringing, he crouched lower behind the feeble protection of their car, turned on the camera on his phone and pushed it out into the open, trying to catch the shooters position. Another bullet was fired and Tony's phone jerked, small pieces of plastic biting into his hand. Cursing, the agent threw it away. Of course the man on the other side of the gun was a sniper. Tony counted himself lucky that he still had all his fingers, albeit a bit bloody. Taking a deep breath, Tony bumped his head against the car, giving himself a little headsmack. He needed to get in and help Gibbs, but the sniper was pinning him down. If Gibbs didn't get this one, they were royally screwed.

Gibbs' situation wasn't much better. When they arrived at Captain Hillard's house to arrest him for the murder of his subordinate, who happened to be his mistress, they barely stepped out of the car when Hillard started shooting.Tony took cover behind the car, and Gibbs rushed through the small yard into the house while Tony covered him with fire. Gibbs took a quick look around and found out that disarming Hillard wouldn't be easy. The hall and room were covered with hunting trophies and there were several cabinets filled with guns. It looked like storage for a small army, and there was no telling whatHillard was hiding upstairs. Cursing the bad intel they got, Gibbs headed for the stairs, internally cringing at every shot fired outside, hoping that Tony wasn't hit.

Making his way up the stairs, Gibbs carefully pointed the gun this way and that. He was barely at the middle when he noticed the barbwireonly a few inches above the stairs. If it wasn't for the light coming in at an angle, he wouldn't have seen it. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Gibbs paused to check the wire. It looked like it was attached to something below the staircase. Gibbs would've guessed some small explosive device. Biting off a silent curse, Gibbs carefully overstepped the wire. His other leg barely landed on the next stair when Gibbs felt himself falling, a searing pain shooting through his leg. He had half the mind not to shout. Grabbing the railing to stop his fall, Gibbs could now see that the stair had been manipulated beforehand, the wood sawed from the bottom so that it wouldn't hold a grown man's weight. His left leg was down in the pit almost to his knee, which throbbed painfully. Cursing, Gibbs took a moment to listen. The shooting had died down and a cold fear settled in his stomach. Had Tony gotten hit? He was relieved when the shots resumed a minute later. It meant DiNozzo was still alive and kicking. Which he should be doing too, Gibbs thought, and tried to pull himself up. Unable to stop the pained grunt, Gibbs ignored the sound of tearing fabric and put all his weight on the railing, hoping that the bastard hadn't booby trapped it too. Luck finally seemed to be on his side when his leg pulled free. It was time to end this.

Outside, Tony was growing more and more nervous. Seven minutes had passed since Gibbs had vanished into the house. Hillard still had him pinned down behind the car and there was no sign that Gibbs had made any kind of attempt to disarm him. For Tony, seven minutes were all he could take. Something was not right and he couldn't wait any longer. He needed to get into the house and find Gibbs, and God help him if he was just taking his sweet time. Tony would shoot him himself.

Deciding on the next course of action didn't take long. Tony had seen enough action flicks to know that once the sniper had his eyes set on him, there was no chance to get into the house withoutcover. The only way Gibbs had managed it was because Hillard was trying to scare them into taking cover behind the car, which meant he either had an escape plan, or was waiting for backup of his own and didn't want to kill them outright. When Gibbs entered the house, it all changed and Hillard was now shooting to kill. Tony took another look around. The only thing stopping Hillard from killing him was the car. That's when the idea hit. The car could be moved.

Tony opened the door to the driver's side, thankful Gibbs had let him drive this time. He put the keys inthe igniton and started the car. As if Hillard had realized his plan, a ray of bullets pierced the right side of the vehicle. Tony cringed as glass flew all around him. Trying to stay out of range, Tony turned the car so that it was heading towards the house, and then grabbed the nearest rock and put it over the gas pedal. As the car gained speed, Tony followed in it's cover, pulling off to the left before the car crashed into the entry steps of the house. The shooting stopped.

Tony burst into the house and was just below the stairs when he heard a single shot and a body hit the floor. Tony froze. Had that been Gibbs or Hillard? Heart beating wild, Tony started for the stairs, only to be stopped by a shout.

"Don't move!" Gibbs was there, limping and bloodied, glaring as if his look could physically stop Tony. It did.

"Gibbs?"

"The stairs are booby trapped. Stay down."

Tony noticed the wire and the broken stair. He swallowed, and then nodded.

"Hillard?"

"Dead," Gibbs grumbled.

"You okay boss?" Tony asked, his eyes pausing on the bloodied leg.

"Nothing Ducky and a bottle of bourbon can't fix." Gibbs looked at Tony's bloody hand. "You?"

"I'll need a new cell," Tony shrugged. "And a new car..." He added with a wince.

It wasn't until Gibbs saw the car that he let his anger out.

"What the hell did you think you were doing DiNozzo?" He barked and Tony was startled, taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"This! How many bulletsnearly missed your thick head?" Gibbs pointed at the bullet holes marring the whole car and Tony gulped. It was true that he had risked a lot with his manouver, but it wasn't like Gibbs had given him a choice.

"I didn't have time to count them, boss. Oh, wait, I did!" Tony shouted, looking at Gibbs, letting his frustration out. " You were inside for an eternity, and Hillard just kept firing. How the hell was I supposed to know you were still alive?"

Gibbs opened his mouth to answer, but their backup finally arrived and there was work to do. While both agents were taken care of by the paramedics, none of them said a word to the other. It was apparent to all that something happened between the two, but there was no explanation given, and no questions asked.

The drive to the office was spent in silent sulking, and the reports had never been written faster. But when Tony stood upto head home, Gibbs stopped him.

"The doc said I shouldn't drive. And since it was my car that you demolished, I think you could drive me home."

Tony's eyes went up, but he simply nodded. Gibbs obviously wanted to talk. He thought he would start in the elevator, but Gibbs was silent the whole way home.

"It's late, and I'll need a drive to work tomorrow morning. Why don't you stay in the guest room?" Came the clipped offer that sounded more like order, and Tony once again nodded, unsure what to do. He was dirty so he took a shower. He wanted to talk to Gibbs, but to his surprise the basement was dark and empty. Gibbs was already in his bedroom and that was a clear sign he didn't want to talk. Tony shrugged and went to bed himself. He was too tired for that shit.

Morning came too soon for his liking and a look at the clock showed he still had time for work. Butsomething had woken him up. Sounds coming from the kitchen. Frowning, Tony made his way down, only to freeze at the sight of his boss making breakfast. What was more surprising though, was the smile he got from Gibbs and the invitation to sit behind the table.

"Waffles? I thought you never apologized boss," Tony said, half joking.

"It's called breakfast DiNozzo. Now, will you take it or should I give it to the neighbor's dogs?" Gibbs grumbled, his hand still holding the plate. Tony looked up and their eyes met, a silent message passing between them.

"I'll take it, Gibbs," Tony said, his voice much more serious than the waffles deserved and Gibbs nodded, his lip twitching into a smile.

"Good. I would hate to see it go to waste. Now eat up. I'll start the car in twenty and if you're not inside, I'm not waiting for you."

Tony grinned and started eating. As far as peace offerings went, this one was pretty tasty.

The End


End file.
